According to World Trade Center (ITC) statistics, in the first nine months of 2023, Canada’s tuna imports from all countries reached nearly 154 million USD. Vietnam ranked third, with a market share of 12%, after Thailand and Italy.
Among tuna products, Vietnam mainly supplies frozen tuna meat/loin and canned tuna to the Canadian market, with a proportion of 54% and 40%, respectively. In 2023, Vietnam’s exports of these two product groups to Canada both had decreased compared to 2022.
According to the Vietnam Trade Office in Canada, high domestic logistics costs in Canada in 2023, had made Vietnam’s export prices less competitive compared to neighboring South American countries. Besides, there is a low CAD exchange rate policy, especially due to the economic recession in Canada. In addition, Canada tends to promote policies towards the South American economic bloc, which is impacting Vietnam’s seafood exports.
In addition, high transportation fuel prices and slow loading and unloading of goods at ports in Canada due to a lack of workers, especially the prolonged strike at the Port of Vancouver from June until now, are also reasons. They are making Vietnamese goods less competitive than those of South American exporters.
On the other hand, in monetary policy, Canada is currently trying to maintain a low exchange rate policy against the USD to promote exports. There have been times when the CAD/USD has reached 0.80, but it is predicted that the Bank of Canada will maintain around 0.76 from now until the end of the year. This exchange rate policy has made Vietnamese goods relatively expensive in the area because the export price is USD, significantly impacting Vietnam’s ability to promote exports in the last months of the year.
